Last Friday November 2 took place the edition of the World Cheese Awards 2018-19, considered the "Oscar" of cheeses. The contest, which meet cheese producers, consumers, vendors, distributors, experts and food critics from around the world for more than three decades, once again broke the record of participation. This year was held in Bergen (Norway), there were sent 3,500 types of cheese from all corners of the planet to be judged in a single day by a professional jury composed of 230 experts from 29 nations.

During this frantic day of tasting, the judges, working in teams of three or four people, decided that cheeses were worthy of a gold, silver or bronze medal based on the appearance of the bark, body, color, texture, consistency and on everything, taste of each one.

12 new World Cheese Awards: 3 golds, 6 silvers and 3 bronzes.

And that's how the Sierra de Albarracín cheeses managed to obtain 12 new medals, making the Teruel dairy one of the most awarded of the event, with 3 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals.

On this occasion, the winners of the three gold medals were the Red Wine Sheep Cheese, which renews the gold medal it won in 2012, and the cheeses from La Cava de Mía in their two varieties, soft and pressed paste.

La Cava de Mía is a project that the cheese factory launched in 2016 as an attempt to improve and differentiate, which was to create a place for cheese in which it could mature and refine in the same way it has done since time immemorial , in contact with nature and the materials that are extracted from it. Under these premises, La Cava de Mía is a singular space whose architecture represents that of a cave, but in which the temperature, humidity and aeration can be controlled, thus favoring a unique and specific flora for the cheese, so that the cheeses that they are made there are unique and genuine.

With 48 prizes, one of the most recognized cheese factories in Spain

The Albarracín cheeses awarded with a Gold medal at the World Cheese Awards 2018-19 pose with the Cava de Mía behind

With these twelve medals, there are already 48 awards that the Cheese Factory of Albarracín has managed to treasure in this contest, repeating as the most awarded cheese of Aragon and one of the most awarded in Spain. A huge achievement that may seem like a dream for this small cheese factory that began its journey twelve years ago, which defends the values ​​of the traditional and the artisanal preparation and protects and pampers its product thus granting it the exclusivity it deserves.

Many thanks to all who have contributed their work and support to this new success.

This week "Aragon en Abierto" of Aragon TV connected live from the set with our Dairy in Albarracin to celebrate the new 12 World Cheese Awards we won in the latest edition of this famous world event also known as "the Oscar of cheeses" .

The live broadcast was entertaining: From the same chambers where the different Sierra de Albarracín cheeses are stored ready to send to the gourmet market to the interior of La Cava de Mía with Alberto Asensio, CEO of Cheeses Sierra de Albarracín, as the guide to this gastronomic visit . Precisely in this cellar two of our most preciated cheeses have won two gold medals respectively: the soft cheese and the pressed cheese "La Cava de Mía".

Thanks again to Aragon in Abierto for the coverage of this important achievement for our cheeses that recognize us as the most awarded cheese factory in Aragon and the 2nd in Spain.

We present The Book of Cheese of Teruel, a new book published by the Association of Producers of Milk and Cheese of Teruel in which we belong as Artisan Cheese of Teruel (Cheeses Sierra de Albarracín) and sponsored by the Council of Teruel with the objective to disclose this product to the general public and, in particular, the child. A work designed by the artist Juan Iranzo.

"Each associated cheese dairy has its products and its own elaborations", explains Vicente San Francisco, president of the association, "but we all have this product in common, with the Queso de Teruel brand, and we thought it would be interesting to promote it and make it known among the public".

More than 2,000 volumes of The Book of Cheese of Teruel have been published, many of which will be distributed by the Association of Producers of Milk and Cheese of Teruel by schools and institutes throughout the province, while others may be found in their own cheese shops like ours in Albarracín. In addition anyone who is interested in the book can download it for free in Spanish.

The book includes some files that include the history, the trajectory and the products marketed by Queso Artesano de Teruel under the brands "Cheeses Sierra de Albarracín" and "La Cava de Mía".

This is an informative book mainly, with a very recognizable aesthetic and in which the graphic element predominates over the textual one. It develops from the general to the particular, and in its pages it gathers in first place some brushstrokes on the culture of the cheese; its history, the hypothesis about its birth, which is usually dated in the Neolithic about 12,000 years ago, the Asian legend of Kenama or the reference to the first historical document about this product, the frieze of a Sumerian temple in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago , which graphically describes the process of cheese production.

It includes activities for children at the end of the book, with which parents can share with them what they have learned about cheese.

"What it was about was to inculcate the culture of eating cheese from knowledge. Cheese is eaten every day, but I think it's good to explain what you're eating, why and in what way, "explained author Juan Iranzo at Diario de Teruel, also responsible for the logos and labels of Teruel Cheese, based in an original sculpture he throws in wool and wood that represents a sheep or a goat depending on what type of cheese it looks like. "I also dedicate a few pages to talk about the Cheese of Teruel as a tool against depopulation," adds Juan Iranzo. "These producers are in small towns in Teruel, and they create jobs, direct and indirect, and therefore wealth."

(I love Cheese from Teruel)

We encourage you to visit the website quesodeteruel.com where you can download the book for free.